North Korea fires missile intended to threaten US: NPR

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea launched a new intercontinental ballistic missile Thursday in its first test in nearly a year, a weapon designed to threaten the U.S. mainland that came days before the U.S. election.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered the missile test and was at the launch site. He called the launch “an appropriate military action” to show North Korea's determination to respond to moves by its enemies that threatened the North's security, according to the Defense Ministry.

The USA, South Korea and Japan had also identified the weapon as an intercontinental ballistic missile and condemned the launch as increasing tensions. The launch came as Washington warned that North Korean troops wearing Russian uniforms were heading toward Ukraine to reinforce Russian forces and join the war.

North Korea confirmed the launch hours after its neighbors discovered the launch of what was believed to be a new, more agile weapon that targeted the U.S. mainland. The statement came unusually quickly, as North Korea typically describes its weapons tests a day after they are carried out.

“I confirm that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea will never change its course to strengthen its nuclear forces,” Kim said, according to a statement from North Korea's Defense Ministry carried by state media. DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the official name of North Korea.

In this photo distributed by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (center) walks near an alleged Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) mounted on the launch vehicle at an undisclosed location in North Korea on March 24, 2022.

Korean Central News Agency/KCNA via KNS

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South Korea's general staff said North Korea could have tested a new long-range solid-fuel ballistic missile. Rockets with built-in solid propellant are easier to move and hide and can be fired more quickly than liquid fuel weapons.

JCS spokesman Lee Sung Joon said the launch may be timed to coincide with the U.S. election to boost North Korea's future negotiating power. He said the North Korean missile was fired at a high angle, apparently to avoid neighboring countries.

Japanese Defense Minister Gen. Nakatani told reporters that the missile's flight duration of 86 minutes and its maximum altitude of more than 7,000 kilometers (4,350 miles) exceeded corresponding data from previous North Korean missile tests. Lee, the South Korean military spokesman, said South Korea had a similar assessment of Thursday's launch.

KCNA said the flight characteristics of this launch exceeded those of previous rocket launches, but did not specify the differences.

U.S. National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett called the launch a “flagrant violation” of several UN Security Council resolutions that “unnecessarily increases tensions and risks destabilizing the security situation in the region.” Savett said the United States would take all necessary measures to ensure the security of the American homeland and its South Korean and Japanese allies.

Both South Korea and Japan condemned the North Korean launch as a threat to international peace and said they would coordinate closely with the United States regarding North Korea's latest weapons test. Lee said South Korea and the United States are planning “sufficient” bilateral and trilateral military exercises involving Japan in response to North Korean threats.

This undated photo provided by the North Korean government on December 19, 2023 purportedly shows an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) being prepared for launch from an undisclosed location in North Korea.

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Lee said the missile may have been fired from a 12-axis launch vehicle, the North's largest mobile launch vehicle announced in September. The vehicle's unveiling had led to speculation that North Korea could develop an intercontinental ballistic missile larger than existing ones.

North Korea has made advances in its missile technologies in recent years, but many foreign experts believe the country has yet to possess a viable nuclear-armed missile capable of striking the U.S. mainland. They say North Korea likely has short-range missiles capable of carrying out nuclear attacks across South Korea.

One of the technological hurdles North Korea still faces is that its weapons must withstand the harsh conditions of atmospheric re-entry. South Korean officials and experts previously said North Korea could test an ICBM from a normal angle to verify that capability.

Lee said a long-distance launch like Thursday's test cannot examine a rocket's re-entry vehicle technology. He said further analysis was needed to determine why North Korea did not conduct a standard trajectory launch on Thursday.

South Korea's military intelligence told lawmakers on Wednesday that North Korea was close to firing a long-range missile that could reach the United States and that preparations for its seventh nuclear test were likely complete.

North Korea last test-fired an ICBM in December 2023, when it fired the Hwasong-18 solid-fuel missile.

In this image distributed by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (left) oversees artillery exercises on March 7, 2024.

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Over the past two years, Kim has used Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a window to step up weapons tests and threats while expanding military cooperation with Moscow. South Korea, the United States and others have recently accused North Korea of ​​sending thousands of troops to support Russia's war against Ukraine. They said North Korea has already delivered artillery, missiles and other convection weapons to Russia.

A possible involvement of North Korea in the Ukraine war would mean a serious escalation. South Korea, the United States and their partners also worry about what North Korea might get from Russia in return for joining Russia's war against Ukraine. Aside from his soldiers' wages, experts say Kim Jong Un is likely hoping for high-tech Russian technology to help him perfect his nuclear-capable missiles and build a reliable space-based surveillance system. Kim may also want Russian fighter jets and help modernize North Korea's conventional weapons.

On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said North Korean troops wearing Russian uniforms and carrying Russian equipment would advance toward Ukraine, which he called a dangerous and destabilizing development. Austin said “the likelihood is pretty high” that Russia will use the troops in combat.

Austin spoke at a news conference in Washington with South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol last week raised the possibility of supplying arms to Ukraine, while stressing that his government would not “stand idly by” in the face of North Korea's reported troop deployment.

South Korea said on Wednesday that North Korea had sent more than 11,000 soldiers to Russia and that more than 3,000 of them had been deployed near battlefields in western Russia.